Cylinder controlling mechanism



Jan. 10, 1950 J. WAWZONEK 2,493,905

CYLINDER CONTROLLING MECHANISM Filed June 25, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan.10, 1950 WAWZQNEK 2,493,905

CYLINDER CONTROLLING MECHANISM Filed June 25, 1948 v 5 Shee ts-Sheet 2XUVE/YTOJE.

Jan. 10, 1950 J. WAWZONEK 2,493,905

CYLINDER CONTROLLING MECHANISM Filed June 25, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3Patented Jan. 10, 1950 2.

UNITED,

aisiisos CYLINDElt CONTROLLINGIMECHANISM Y Joseph Wawzonek, CentralFalls,.R.'I.', assignor to Hemphill Company, Qentral Falls, R. L, a cor-I poration of Massachusetts Application, June 25, 1948, Serial No.35,232

This invention relates to a; mechanism for con trolling the cylinder of'a circular, independent needle, knitting machine of the type havingsuperposed co-axial needle cylinders. It relates particularly to theupper cylinder.

Since the needles of such a machine are transferrable from one cylinderto the other, it is advisable that the adjacent ends of the cylinders beas close together as possible. The possible closeness of fixed cylindersdepends upon the nature of the equipment of the machine and may varyfrom, say, to A. Departure from a minimum closeness decreases thecertainty of proper needle transfer and increases the probability ofdefective knitting and machine dim:- culties.

One of the reasons for the limited capabilities of two cylinder machinesis the inadvisability of separating the cylinders enough to permit theuse of wrap and other mechanisms of the types in use on single cylindermachines such as the well known Banner type of machines, for example. Bythis invention the advantage of closely spaced cylinders for ribknitting and transferring and extremely widely spaced cylinders forlower cylinder work are made available automatically while the machineis running.

One form of the invention is shown in the drawings of which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation showing the two cylinders and part of thecontrolling mechanism of the upper cylinder.

Fig. 2 is a similar plan view; and

Figs. 3, 4 and are views of other parts of the controlling mechanism ofthe upper cylinder.

As shown in Fig. 1, lower cylinder I may be of conventional type andmounting. Upper cylinder 2 may also be generally conventional butdeparts from the conventional adjacent its upper end above the needleslots where it is provided with longitudinal splines or keys 3 equallyspaced about and projecting from the cylinder and adapted to slidewithin slots 4 in ring gear 5 by which the cylinder is driven and whichotherwise may be of conventional design.

Integral with or aiiixed to upper cylinder 2 is an extension 6 providedwith a circumferential channel 1 within which are positioned opposedrollers 8 and 9 (Fig. 2) rotatably mounted on the respective ends of ayoke IIJ. Yoke III constitutes one end of a lever I l which is pivotedbetween its ends as at I2 so as to be swingable in a vertical plane. Itwill be evident that by operating lever II cylinder 2 can be raised orlowered at will without disconnecting it from its driving gear 3 Claims.(ores- 4) since splines 3 are not withdrawable from slots 4 but movealways within the slots and that the separation of the two cylinders canbe varied at will within relatively wide limits while the machine is inoperation.

The controlling mechanism shown consists of rollers 8 and 9, yoke I0 andlever I I already mentioned and operating conections I3 and I4, thelatter of which is pivoted at I5 and is provided at its free end with aroller I6 which is engageable with a cam or cams such as H on a drum I8.This specific mechanism is, of course, only illustrative.

This is all that is required for raising and lowering the upper cylinder2 at any desired time and to an extent sufiicient for all practicalrequirements. Sufllcient, for example, to entirely free the needles fromany association with the upper cylinder when they are operatingexclusively in the lower cylinder or to permit the use of a wrap spindlerequiring a space between cylinders of three inches or more and on theother hand to bring the cylinders as close together as practicable whileknitting rib or transferring needles.

In short, any impediment heretofore resulting from the relativepositions of the cylinders is eliminated completely for all practicalpurposes.

The controlling mechanism described above may be supplemented as desiredby a locking 30 device which opposes any undesired movement.

This is shown in Figs. 3-6, particularly in Fig. 5. It consists of arocker I9 pivoted at I5 and adapted to be raised by a cam 20 offset fromcam H on drum I8. Rocker I9 has a tail 2|. A lever 22 pivoted at 22aoverhangs the free end of lever I4 where it is provided with a screw 23as an adjustable operating connection. The other end of lever 22terminates in a hook 24 which by adjustment of screw 23 can be made tobear upon the tail 2| of rocker I9. Cams I! and 20 may be proportionedand positioned and the adjustment of screw 23 may be such that wheneverroller IE on lever I4 is resting upon drum, lever I9 rides upon cam 20and whenever lever I9 is upon the drum, roller I6 is upon cam I'I. Also,when roller I6 is moving up to or down from the top of cam II, lever I 9is moving down from or up to the top of cam 20. Therefore, the movementsof the cylinder are positively restricted to those produced by cam 20and those movements are positively assured.

So that the jacks or sliders of the upper cylinder may not be displacedwhen the upper cylinder is raised, the cams which operate them should 5be retractable and should be retracted when the 'it, a cylindercontrolling device which includes means for raising and loweringsaid'cylinder and means for insuring positive operation of said raisingmeans, said raising means including a drum,

a cam thereon, a rocker adapted to ride upon the surface of said drumand said cam and connections between said rocker and said cylinderwhereby the rocking of said rocker is translated into vertical movementsof said cylinder, said insuring means including another cam on saiddrum, another rocker adapted to ride uponthe surfaceof said drum and ofsaid other cam in opposition to the movements of said first mentionedrocker and means operatively connecting the two rockers.

2. For a circular, independent needle, knitting machine, a controllingdevice as claimed in claim 1 in which the means operatively connectingthe two rockers is adjustable.

3. For a circular, independent needle, knitting machine, a cylindercontrolling device as claimed in claim I in which the means operativelyconnecting the two rockers translates the rocking of one rocker in onedirection into rocking of the other rocker infthe other direction.

JOSEPH WAWZONEK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,189,220 Scott June 27, 19161,612,723 Hofiman Dec. 28, 1926 2,370,449 Clarke Feb. 27,1945 2,450,376Holmes Sept. 28, 1948

